Broom-bridle



A. 0. LINDS TROM.

BROOM BRIDLE. APPLICATION FILED MAY 5. 1920.

Patented Dec. 20, 1921..

- Jfiezzzar izfarzzsysr j'yzw/am a unirsn STATES ARTHUR O. LINDSTROM, 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF KOHII, 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO.

earner erri .BROOM-BRIDLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 2@, 1921..

Application filed May 5, 1920. Serial No. 379,087.

To aZZ whom ii /nay concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR O. LIND- S'l.ROM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Broom- Bridles, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention has for its object the provision of a device adapted to be attached to an ordinary household broom for the purpose of increasing its efficiency and durability in use. More specifically it is my object to provide a flexible bridle clip adapted to be readily applied to embrace the broom proper whereby the straws may be yield-.

ingly held together to an extent insufficient to interfere with efiioient sweeping, and pres rented from unduly spreading or breaking during use, or from bending and wearing unevenly to cause the broom to assume the distorted or unsymmetrical shape so common in brooms after a period of use. VVit-h my attachment device employed I have found that the life of a broom is considerably prolonged, and that its effectiveness is greatly increased, and is maintained near the maximum for a much longer period than when the broom is used without such device.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a device that may be adjustably fitted to a broom and securely retained in any desired position, whereby the length of the effective portion of the straws may be easily regulated as desired, depending upon the different surfaces or uses to which the broom may be applied. Still another feature is the simplicity of my attachment permitting it to be manufactured and sold very cheaply.

The invention is hereinafter more fully described, and its construction and manner of use are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The essential features are summarized in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a broom equipped with a clip constituting my invention; Fig. 2 is a front view thereof; Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective showin clearly the construction of the clip in a s ightly modified form; Fig. 4: is an end view of the same; and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the clip in i termediate stage of construction,

in size depending upon the size and stiffness of the straws of the broom to whichthe finished article is to be applied. As illustrated, one end 10 of the wire is bent into U- shape to form a short hook 11. At the points 14:, 15 and 16, as shown most clearly in F ig. 5, the wire isbent at successive right angles in one plane to form an inclosed rectangle. The side of the rectangle or portion 18 between the points 1 1 and 15 is of a length only slightly less. than the normal width of the tuft or mass of straws constituting the broom proper. The end of the side portion 19 parallel thereto,'is adapted to engage the hook 11 and be retained there in by reason of the elasticity of the wire, with a projecting portion terminating at a point slightly beyond the hook as at 20.

The hollow rectangle thus formed is then bent into a V-shape at the points 21 and 22 forming jaws as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, and constituting the finished spring clip. If desired complete loops such as 25 may be formed at these points as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 5. The points 21 and 22 are so chosen in the portions between the points 11 and 14, and 15 and 16 respectively, that the two arms of each V thus formed about these points as vertices, are preferably of unequal length. As shown the arms 23 are only a little over half the length of the arms 2 1, this construction, either with or without the loops 25, being employed in order to increase the resiliency of the finished article when applied to a broom.

In applying the clip to the broom the end 20 is unlatched from the hook 11 and the clip then placed around the straws intermediate of their lower ends and the usual rows of stitching S, and the end 20 again seated within the hook 11. To accomplish this the straws are slightly compressed, the tension thus produced being found sufficient in test to retain the clip during use in the desired position. This construction is sufficiently flexible to permit the straws of the broom to bend freely and function efiiciently during the operation of sweeping, yet prevent to a great extent their spreading and bending laterally and wearing: unevenl into the lopsided shape as is invariably the result after continued use of a broom not equipped with such a device, Moreover, the fan-like spreading of the straws that takes place during the use of an unequipped broom and that permits a large portion of the dust and dirt to be scattered or passed over, is avoided when my attachmentis em'ployed,the yieldingly restrained straws then loosening and driving the dust and dirt before them and effecting the sweeping operation in a thorough and eificient manner.

The clips will be made, of course, in different sizes to accommodatethe different sizes of brooms that are manufactured. They may also be dipped or enameled in different colors to harmonize with the straws, orstitching, or wire binding of the brooms with which they areto be used, as the fancy straws instraight parallel arrangement and thereby the broom proper in symmetrical shape, the efficiency of the broom is maintained and its durability greatly increased.

Having thus described my invention, I

claim:

1. Ajdevice of the character described, comprising a spring clip bent from a single piece of wire into a substantially rectangular loop, the loopbeing then bentto form diverging jaws, one of which is approximately twice the length of the other.

2. In a device of the character the combination of a single length of wire having an open hook formed at one end thereof, the wire being successively bent at right anglesin the same plane to bring the opposite end into engagement with said hook wherein it is adapted to be detachably retained, to form a closed rectangular loop, and the sides of said loop being folded toward each other at corresponding non-centra-l points in the ends whereby the resulting two diverging spring jaws of unequal size are adapted to embrace fixedly and flexibly all the straws of a broom below the usual straw retaining means.

.In testimony whereof, I hereunto affix my signature.

ARTHUR o. LINDSTROM.

described, 

